Blackmail
by anniee-chan
Summary: A split-second glimpse, but it was long enough for him to remember something he shouldn't. Akashi has never been interested, been tempted before, but what he plans to do will change everything. - "I am absolute." - [Main Pairing: AkaKuro, FEM!Kuroko]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own KNB :)**

******-Blackmail-  
**_A Kuroko No Basket Fan fiction  
_Written by anniee-chan

_ A new start, A new beginning,  
__But it means more pain for two messed up souls._

** -Chapter One-**

The feared red haired leader carelessly tossed his black scissors backwards, as it landed in the round, metal pencil case tin with precise accuracy and a dull thud. In his hands were two shoji pieces, as his long, slender fingers twirled them around in the palm of his hands. Both pieces, while appearing to have a glossy surface, had countless scratches that marred the near-pristine condition that otherwise would have left the two pieces to appear flawless and well-kept. Akashi smiled, before letting one piece slip through the gaps of his fingers and land on the wooden floorboard with a satisfying sound. He then lifted the remaining shogi piece and examined it, turning it around so he could see it from all angles. A small laugh escaped him before he suddenly smashed the piece with his scissors, leaving it cracked in half, forever broken.

* * *

The silent drips of salty tears came falling down Kuroko's cheeks. She tucked a few stray strands of silky blue hair behind her ears, before forcing herself to quit sobbing. She had cried again, and she swore not to. How long has it been? She must forget the incident, as the forceful booms of fireworks echoed throughout the night of the new year. There were joyous screams and shouts of young children as they chased each other, chanting and running on the floor below. Kuroko looked through the window from her room, her breath fogging up the view, making the happy scene below blurred out, and far away. She turned so that her back was facing the cold glass window, as the shadows of the trees casted a sinister look to her plain bedroom. The electricity was out, and only the pale moonlight was allowed into the darkness of her room A fierce, howling wind blew outside, as the black shadows of the trees swayed and moved around. She was alone this New Year's day, but it wasn't always like this. Before, she had her parents… but there was no use thinking of her parents now. It was just her.

There was only herself.

* * *

Teiko Junior High's first day started with a huge uproar. In hours, swarms of reporters came and tried to get into the school. Some waited patiently at the main gate, while others were sneaking in through alternate entrances, however, none were let in due to the security that was doubled at this moment.

There were murmurs in the school with every student and teachers face looking anxious and frightened. A male student had attempted to assault his ex-girlfriend who had tried to break up with him. There weren't any students around when the incident had happened, but he had somehow sneaked a butchers knife into the school premises, and, quoted from someone who had witnessed the event 'had a mad glint in his eye as he charged like an insane person to chop her.' The girl, who was somewhat-proficient at self-defence after attending classes hastily dodged the attack, with the shiny silver knife deeply stuck in the tall grass after it was thrown at her. The male student then pulled out a handknife from his pocket, and swung wildly everywhere.

"That was when the first witness brought a teacher here, they were both shaking, and the shouts had gathered attention." Principal Nomura explained, wiping his sweat off with a white handkerchief. The police officer merely nodded as he lazily scrawled down notes.

"It was during class time, so that's why there were no witnesses when the male student first began his attack, correct?" The forty year old police officer asked, as he changed his seating position so that his right leg crossed over his left.

"Y-Yes." Principal Nomura replied. "Please do not disclose this information to the public. It will definitely make them think otherwise of Teiko's proud reputation."

The man nodded, closing his notebook. "We will take the offender with us, if you may. The police will try our best about not leaking the information, but as you have realised there are reporters swarming everywhere around the school."

Principal Nomura swallowed as he paced back and forth around the room. The Winter Cup for basketball was coming up soon, and the captain of the so called 'Generation of Miracles', Akashi Seijuro's father was playing a generous sum of money to the school for promotion of the basketball team and to make sure that when Teiko would win, everyone would know about it. Now that this incident happened and the schools reputation was at risk, would the sponsorship money be taken away?

"Thanks for your co-operation." The police officer said, as he stood up and put his cap on, while shaking hands firmly with the principal before leaving. The principal sighed before taking a gulp of his tea that was supposed to calm himself down. He looked down from his second-floor office and had a clear view of where the police were taking the male student away after questioning him, no doubt, and a shaky girl that Principal Nomura presumed was the offenders ex-girlfriend. The students had disgusted looks on their faces, and backed away in fear when the male student was taken away.

Yet, he did not notice a certain teenager with heterochromic eyes of red and gold watch the whole situation unfold as if it was something that happened every day, or a blue haired student who carefully observed the situation and blended in effortlessly with the masses.

* * *

The Winter Cup would be no problem for the Teiko basketball team, Akashi thought to himself as he sat down with the rest of the Generation of Miracles to eat lunch. With his pair of scissors at his left side while trying to block out the unnecessary comments made by his teammates, Akashi studied the recent happenings at school on his laptop. Information is knowledge, and knowledge is power. Although the official school blog would obviously not post anything that would show Teiko in a negative light, the students blogs were quite different, although boring to look at. Nevertheless, occasionally something mildly interesting would pop up and catch his attention, although that was very rare.

"Akashicchi, what are you looking at?" Kise asked, while reading a magazine which had his photo on the front cover.

"It does not involve you, Ryouta." The red-head replied simply.

The blond model merely flipped to the next page, not at all bothered by the captains cold reply. Everyone was used to it by now, whether it was orders that requested absolute obedience, or harsh punishments that would definitely be served to the person who disobeyed with no exceptions, the Generation of Miracles still treated Akashi rather carefree, whilst always remembering what he was capable of.

The captain scrolled down on the blogs, when a black and white plain styled blog caught his attention. It was in the 'Teiko Junior School' club, but instead of the student name, it just said 'PREDICTOR.' Intrigued, he found there were no posts, instead, there was a button with no instructions whatsoever. He clicked it, and a pop-up came.

_Today, the red string of fate for you will be shown. But will you cut it, or accept who it leads you to? _

Akashi looked away from the screen, disappointed, and shut his laptop. It was all worthless, anyways. He suddenly felt a cold prick on his neck, as if someone was watching them. His left hand instinctively tightened its grip on his scissors, as he darted his eyes towards the steps as to where they were eating. There was no one watching them, there was no one even there near them. It was a good spot to hide when they were eating to avoid certain people who would disrupt their peace, so he doubted there really was someone here.

Aomine yawned and stretched, his hand hitting Kise's head and earning him a glare.

"We should go to classes now." Midorima announced, swinging his lucky item which was on his index finger. It was a keychain with two broken hearts.

Everyone started to leave, with Aomine and Kise quarrelling playfully. Akashi did not move, he still had an uneasy feeling which wouldn't leave him.

_Usually my feelings are correct. Stay composed. What are the likely reasons of this uncomfortable feeling? _

The shogi genius quickly analysed some possible occurrences to make himself feel this way, from most likely to least likely. To his frustration, none of them would quite work out at a school setting like this.

_Could it be because of the student incident which happened earlier that is affecting my mood? Now that word might get out because of the reporters, which will surely damage Teiko's reputation, would father still sponsor this school? Is that the reason why I'm feeling unsettled? _

Akashi narrowed his eyes, not entirely convinced by his implausible statement with himself. No, there must be something that he was missing.

There was a sound from the nearby bushes and he immediately went into his most cautious mode.

_I knew it. There was someone here. _

With a few quick strides and his deadly scissors in his hand, Akashi forcefully pushed the thorny bushes to one side. It was less than a second of exposure to the new environment behind the bushes before Akashi pinned the person against a brick wall with his scissors to her neck at a lethal position.

The girl had straight blue hair with wide eyes. Her bento was on the floor with her scattered books. The most viable theory would obviously be that she was trying to leave for class when she dropped her books that caused the sound.

Akashi stared into her eyes with a cold glance, but she returned it without flinching. Without loosening his grip on his scissors, Akashi started questioning the girl.

"What is your name, and why were you here where we were sitting?" Akashi demanded, an overwhelming sense of authority evident in his voice.

The girl tried to shrink further into the wall, it was uncomfortable being this close to someone she didn't know. The gap was small enough for her to eat, but with two people here it meant they were very close together. The male's red and golden eyes bore into her sole, as if they were reading her.

"My name is Kuroko Tesune. I was sitting here by coincidence, when I realised you and your friends were sitting there. I didn't want to interrupt your conversation, so I stayed until I thought you had all left."

Akashi pressed his scissors so that the tip was touching her skin. The coldness of the metal sent shivers down Kurokos spine, just like his intimidating aura.

Akashi leaned closer against Kuroko, their breaths lightly reaching each other's face and mixing.

"What do you want?" The red-haired asked, or more specifically, ordered her to answer.

Kuroko's eyes seemed to dim a little. She had never been this close to a male before, and he was holding a pair of scissors aimed at her neck. Although she was trying to remain calm on the outside, but on the inside her brain was screaming 'Danger! Danger!' all over. Fear started taking control of her, and she felt like she was on the verge of slipping into another flashback as the edges of her vision started becoming blurred with black.

_Control. _

The black dots were invading her vision and she felt weak and dizzy.

_No. Not again. Breathe. _

_In.  
Out.  
In.  
Out. _

It was close, very close. As the black started fading away and her vision was becoming normal again, her sense returned and the numbness disappeared. However, the male was still there, his eyes cold, merciless, like a predator who had found a prey.

Kuroko shakily observed the male. Observing was something that she did often. It required at times, no speech or social interaction, just a pair of eyes which could correctly analyse the truth behind many things. But what interested her now by looking at the male, was still his eyes, one a fiery red and the other a brilliant shade of gold. If she needed to get away, the time had to be now. After all, the panic attack could come back any time – and she wasn't sure if she could stop it this time.

She took a shaky breath before quickly slamming Akashi's hand which was holding the scissors out of her way, twisting his arm and attempting to lock him with the weapon pointing away from her, and his back against the wall. However, as soon as her pale fingers came in contact with Akashi's hands, he digged the scissors into her neck just slightly.

"I punish those who disobey me." Akashi whispered, enjoying the steady trickle of blood coming from the wound.

It hurted but Kuroko was determined not to show it. Especially after she swore never to cry again. It was strange, usually she would have definitely freaked out by now, due to the distance between the two, or she expected another panic attack to come, since they were literally pressed together, with Kuroko having nowhere to go as behind her was a solid brick wall. Why was she behaving normally? What was different about this encounter that made her remain able to think, able to stand?

A strand of Kuroko's blue hair near the blood started soaking it up, causing that strand to become stained with red.

"I'll ask you again. What do you want?" Akashi demanded, both his eyes glinting dangerously while applying more pressure on the weapon.

Another jolt of pain. His body that was pushing hers against the wall even tighter than before made it almost impossible for her to try and move. How did he see through her plan?

"I-I told you. I just found this area and wanted to sit here."

_Lies. _Akashi thought. Why would a girl just happen to sit where the Generation of Miracles sat? And if she happened to hear what he revealed to his team about future training sessions… His mind started singling out the chances of what this girl could be. He had to know her true intention.

The red-head looked down slightly at the girl, not releasing the scissors. Kuroko's strand of hair that was soaking up her blood started dripping it onto her uniform. It was suffocating. The space, the atmosphere, this person. She was thankful the flashback didn't come and she was thinking normally, but she needed to get out of here.

"Leave me alone, Akashi Seijuuro."

She felt his muscles tense against her body. Was this not expected? The scissors pierced deeper through her skin and she winced.

Akashi's whole body started to stiffen but his face showed no betrayal of emotions. Those three words… he had said countless times before when he was younger. When he was weak. The shouts and screams from the past… No. He would not revisit to when he was younger. But this girl obviously knew his name, when he thought that she was the anti-social type. It was surprising… not to mention the way her eyes darkened considerably when she said it…

_The past is the past. Drop it. It's useless._

Akashi lifted the arm which was leaning on the wall that was blocking the exit to re-organise his state of mind when Kuroko saw her chance and ran. The scissors, not being pulled out, left a deep red gash on her porcelain-doll like skin. She ran out of the bushes and took a sharp turn, its thorns piercing her skin. Akashi remained still.

_Interesting. _

There was a strand of blue hair wrapped around the dripping red blood on his scissors.

**A/N: Its been soo long since I wrote a fanfic ^^ Last time I wrote one was when I was 12 o.o Seems like aaages ago. I included many events which foreshadow the contents about upcoming chapters, I'm curious to think what you guys would interpret it as. Even details that only appear for a sentence can mean something! I know this chapter may seem confusing, but its really a mashup from two different point of views, I guess. Apart from my life on fan fiction, I got a bloody nose playing soccer today, yay?**

**And… you know, reviews always make me update faster, just saying. *wink wink* I really do appreciate the time you guys spend typing up a few words, I welcome constructive criticism and tell me what you think about this chapter! :)  
-Anniee-chan :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own KnB or the characters, as you probably could tell. Lol.**

******-Blackmail-  
**_A Kuroko No Basket Fan fiction _  
Written by anniee-chan

_Perhaps the question that most people cannot answer… what is Love? _

**-Chapter Two-**

"Here are the files you wanted, Akashi-kun."

Akashi accepted the faded yellow envelope, and waved his hand to signal for the maids disappearance. That girl- the blue haired one from last time was bothering him ever so slightly, so he had done some research on her. He had to know what her background was; it had intrigued him, such that he had specially requested a profile on her.

He'd figured that there were many possibilities on why she was there, that was a given, but who was she exactly? What was her personality, her likes, her dislikes, her friends, her enemies? Call it possessiveness if you must, however it seemed more suitable to call it- analysing a person's backgrounds and their motives. To know one's motive- something that drives a particular action, the reason behind something, gives someone the power to predict and control that person.

It was something that had comforted Akashi, when he knew absolutely everything about someone. The rays of sunlight that was flooding in from his floor-to-ceiling windows gradually got covered up by darkening clouds, as Akashi turned the lights on. The temperature in the room also seemed to have dropped, as the chandelier on the circular dome-like ceiling flickered twice before shining brightly, emitting its glow to all the corners of the grand room.

Slightly shuddering, perhaps from a chilly wind that seemingly had come from no-where, he opened the envelope with a swift move and brought out the papers that were neatly organised. It wasn't hard to get the information; after all, Akashi had many sources that he could use. He sighed, piercing hetero-coloured eyes staring at the documents before his slim fingers carefully flipped the first blank title page over revealing a photo.

The photo showed a girl with eyes like a sparkling aquamarine stone, long icy blue lashes and mostly-straight, teal hair. She had a small smile on her face, and her skin was porcelain doll like- clear and flawless. The red-head frowned. The picture had a vast contrast with whom he had seen before. Although he remained rather careless of the encounter, he was sure that the Kuroko Tetsune from their last encounter looked fragile in terms of appearance with her messy blue hair, dull eyes and unorganised uniform. Her pleading, broken voice echoed in his memories, the look in her eyes that once shone like the picture he had right now, were dim and was filled with mixed emotions. Akashi's whole body tensed, realising the bluenette was once again, intruding his over-analytical and logical mind.

His right hand clenched the documents tighter, as he recalled the strange reactions he had when he came home that day when he met her. First, it was the curiosity he felt towards that girl, however that could be explained with the fact that she was being extremely suspicious lurking around. Then he started thinking about the encounter, playing that scene over and over again in his head, like a broken record stuck on repeat. He had easily brushed that off as well, it was his brain that was being persistent in finding out any clues on who she was, therefore it was necessary to revisit that time in his mind for things he had perhaps not realised before. But he had also felt the undeniable thrill when he had stabbed the scissors in her flesh. The blood that came out was a rich red, a beautiful colour that vastly contrasted her white-as-snow skin. Who exactly was this girl? The red-haired captain decided that the sooner he read her details and understood her, the sooner she would leave his mind.

His hetero coloured eyes quickly scanned the small writing underneath the picture. The date when this photo was taken was two years ago. What made this person change so much? The questions were in his head, stubbornly refusing to go away. The harder he tried to silence his thoughts, the more the questions came. Like how someone tries to stop water escaping from their hands, but it leaks through the gaps of the fingers anyways, Akashi's efforts to cease the questions proved futile.

Exasperated at his own mentality rebelling against himself, Akashi impatiently flipped the piece of paper. In his haste, there was a slight rip while turning the page over. A frown appeared on the red-heads face. It was always drilled into him that no matter how urgent something could be, the actions must prove to be composed, displaying authority and supremacy through his calm state of mind during panic, if that should ever happen. Only then would it prevent further accidents to be happening. However, there was nothing posing a threat right now. How careless was he to rip the paper? Since when has he started making such trivial mistakes?

Out of the corner of his eye, Akashi realised that his pair of scissors which were next to him seemed oddly bright in this room. He had cleaned off the blood in a few simple steps, attempting to untangle the strand of blue hair which was tightly wrapped around, and snapped it in half due to its stubbornness to come off the scissors. He put it back in the tin on his desk, and anyone who saw it would most possibly assume it was for cutting up things, like its intended use, but few people knew Akashi Seijuuro's 'other' side.

Turning with his back to the scissors and leaning against his desk, Akashi focused on the bluenettes documents. The information was apparently intentionally covered up and was hard to find, however one source did mention briefly about this girl.

_But.. that couldn't be. _

The red-head did not even finish the first paragraph when he felt like this information was way, _way_ off the mark, perhaps, it got mixed up with another girl who shared the name? It was either that, or the teal-haired girl was no ordinary person.

Her lack of presence, what she appeared to be, was it all, an illusion?

Firstly her parents were the co-founders of a huge hotel company in collaboration with another close family. Without even knowing, Akashi already subconsciously calculated her wealth. It meant that her economic status would be significantly higher than what she let on. Given the shares that her parents had, the amount of money belonging to her family would be roughly equivalent to place her in the top 2% of all the families in Japan. So why does she seem like she comes from a common family?

Who is she, really?

More questions. Akashi demanded silence in the war that was ranging on inside, however, his voice was drowned out by the constant waves of debates over her identity.

_Victim of an attempted rape. _

…Rape? But attempted means that it didn't succeed… someone had saved her?

_Admitted into hospital as she was showing unstable signs in terms of mental health. Parents killed in car crash while on the way to visit her. _

Akashi's eyes narrowed. Death of both parents? The after-effects and shock would be enough to shatter one's willpower. There was more, but he felt no need to read what was left. For once, his calculations had been wrong. He thought that she was just a girl that had appeared in the wrong place, at the wrong time after all the interrogations he had with her. An amused expression showed up on his face, as both red and golden eyes glittered like gems. She was not what he thought she was, this blue haired girl was a mystery, and since she could trick him into thinking that she was a commoner, maybe it would prove to be entertaining if he became, 'friends' with her, regardless of his ulterior motive.

He breathed out while putting the papers neatly back into the envelope. Recently, one of his – obsessions, as some say, would be testing the limits to certain people. What was the limit to this girl – Kuroko Tetsune?

The red-haired captain smiled before taking out a gold lighter, and burnt the documents, his eyes hungrily reflecting the red and orange flames of fire.

* * *

Kuroko winced as she gingerly touched the soft, white fabric covering her scar. She had hastily stuck the cotton there from the first aid kit she had at home, after disinfecting the wound and going through agonizing pain. The wound was deep and ugly, as the scissors from last time had torn through her flesh.

She would normally have her lunch in a quiet place, where she would isolate herself from the crowd of students. However, today, the regulars of the Teiko basketball club were having a match with the second string for practise. The bluenette was unsociable, but the whole class was buzzing about it. As soon as the bell rang signalling that class was over, everyone was at a mad dash to the gym. Everyone except Kuroko, who felt that this event was nothing but a cruel game where the second-string members would be thrashed and humiliated. She had seen the regulars, the 'Generation of Miracles' play their basketball. It was out of curiosity that she attended and observed their practise match with another school, and it wasn't long before she realised that no-one from Teiko was taking the opposition seriously, yet, they still managed to beat that school by an insanely wide margin.

Red hair. Different coloured eyes. The supremacy of the leader in this team of unlimited potential was undeniable. She could tell that he pulled the strings.

Kuroko sighed before slowly packing up, making sure not to injure her neck by any sudden movements. She exited the classroom, and the hallways looked deserted already, everyone being at the gym. The throbbing pain of the scar was not disappearing, but she walked slowly, enduring the pain, past the gym. She had no intention to watch a game that was set up for one side to lose. The bluenette effortlessly dodged a few 'stray' students that were late and desperately running so they wouldn't miss the start of the match. They didn't notice her, due to her low presence, so thankfully no collisions happened.

As she walked at a careful pace, the crisp crunching of the red and golden autumn leaves under her feet comforted her, despite those colours reminding her of a certain someone that she had tried to forget. A few more steps, and the shelter of the enormous timber roof above her shadowed her from the harsh sun rays that started to inflict an uncomfortably hot heat spreading across her back. Her lone footsteps echoed on the concrete before the cheers from the gym became deafening loud and drowned every other noise that Kuroko could've heard.

Through a gap in the wide doors, she could see that the gym was packed with people, some having to stand outside to watch since there wasn't enough room. The second-string members were at a total loss, despite the game only to have just begun. The regulars were leading already by a wide margin, and the second string players hadn't even scored. More cheers, and squeals. Kuroko's stomach lurched. How could people possibly find joy in such an unequal match? She tore her eyes away from the game, when a pair of scissors narrowly missed her and landed firmly on the large wooden door behind her, like a dart and a dart board. She turned to her side, to see the red-haired captain, who was meant to be playing the game, and then the pair of scissors, which was right in front of her face. Her pale, panicked reflection looked back at her on the pair of scissors, her eyes were wide, and she was slightly trembling – whether it was from the shock, or from the unexpectedness of it all, she did not know.

It was the same pair of scissors that person had last time, and it was the same person she had tried to forget. The very one that had haunted her, the one that had broken through the walls she'd set up and looked – perhaps too far, into her soul.

_Why was he here? Why did he have to reappear again? _

The red-haired captain leaned forward, pinning her against the door once more. "I've found you again..." He whispered, his warm breath trailing on her Kuroko's cold and exposed neck, before taking the scissors out of the door and staring her in the eyes, red and golden orbs crashing with blue ones.

"But this time you won't run away."

**A/N: Short chapter, don't kill me! Thanks for everyone that reviewed! I actually finished this chapter like a month ago, but I read it and read it and edited it like crazy, haha, not even sure what I'm doing now.. I'll try and upload the next chapter faster, heh heh. And also, for the people that had questions, Akashi is- as many of you may know, a psychopath, and the way he says 'I am absolute' gives me the feeling that he is possessive, considering the fact that he regards his former teiko teammates as pawns rather than friends or players. Anyways, that's my interpretation, which is how he's going to be based on in my story. I welcome suggestions and constructive criticism as always :) And also, I won't be excessively asking for reviews anymore, because I know most of you won't be bothered anyways. Lol. Thanks for reading!**

**-Anniee-chan ^-^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't even know if people read this sentence at the top.. but I don't own KnB ^-^**

******-Blackmail-  
**_A Kuroko No Basket Fan fiction  
_Written by anniee-chan

Child [noun]  
_Someone who is yet to realise the cruelty of the real world._

**-Chapter Three-**

It was a winter when the incident happened. A winter 6 years ago.

The heavy, wooden doors that were recently glossed and smelled of paint slowly opened with the help of two men, dressed in a fancy white and blue uniform. As they revealed the grand setting behind the entrance, eleven year old Kuroko, with her teal hair up in a messy bun and dressed up with a simple creamy white dress gasped in awe. The shiny, wooden floor reflected a tall ceiling that was decorated by sparkling chandeliers, which twinkled and shone, like thousands of stars in the sky. There was soft ballroom music going on, although nobody danced- everyone was in little groups, holding long, fancy glasses of champagne and laughing politely with the conversation they had. The guests that were invited to this event were the richest of society, an elite gathering to celebrate the fortunes of the top 2% families in Japan. The male guests looked intelligent and respected, with their expensive tuxedos and the experienced, business look in their eyes. The female guests were more carefree, although they all dressed formally with long dresses for the occasion, either standing close-by to their husband and joining in business conversations or making small talk with their other friends.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Kuroko Miya, the bluenette's mother, softly remarked. She had her hair down, beautifully curled into soft waves as she nudged her daughter. "Someday you'll grow up to be as beautiful as them."

Kuroko Hiroshi chuckled, his eyes, a deeper shade of blue like the oceans twinkled, as he walked in front of his family.

"I think you're the prettiest of them all." The young bluenette said to her mother.

A warm smile made it's way to Kuroko Miya's face, before she tugged her daughter along. "Come on, this place is big, we wouldn't want you to get lost, would we?"

It wasn't long before the young child realised that she could barely catch up to what the adults were saying, not that it interested her in any way. At first she thought that after her parents were done talking with that small group of friends, they would leave and go home, but she was wrong. After this group of friends came another group, and another, and another… The conversation was terribly boring, after all, an eleven year old would barely care less about the stock market shares, or another hotel that was opening, and all the other horribly uninteresting things that the adults were totally engrossed in talking about. She quietly slipped away from the circle and paced around randomly, through the wave of adults and enjoying the smell of various expensive perfumes that satisfied her senses. There were daisies, and roses, and even a hint of blueberry somewhere. That was a nice perfume.

_Wait- Blueberry perfume? _

Kuroko sniffed again, nose up in the air and carefully smelling the blueberry scent. It wasn't perfume, it was actually food! Her eyes followed the invisible trail that released the blueberry smell. There, through the tiniest of gaps between the masses of people, she could see a platter of desserts that were literally sparkling and glowing and encouraging her to go over to the table. The young child forced her way through the sea of bodies before reaching her final destination- a long table draped with a white lace tablecloth that had all kinds of delicious desserts on it. The child's eyes sparkled as she happily looked at what the table had to offer. There was a white, three tiered cake which was decorated with fancy swirls of icing and milk chocolate pieces placed at the top. There were lollipops that were coated with all sorts of flavours and sprinkled with various things as decoration. The list would go on and on of the mouth-watering foods that occupied the centre of the hall, but the teal-haired girl found that she was attracted to something none other than a particular platter of blueberry cupcakes, that had exactly three blueberries placed in a triangle formation on the right hand side, and white zig-zag icing on the left. However, much to her disappointment, they were on the inner side of the table, meaning she'd had to reach further for the cupcakes.

On her tiptoes, she leaned forward- fingers stretched, balancing on one foot, in an attempt to reach the cupcake.

"Don't dirty all the other foods with your hands." An icy, uninterested voice interrupted her mission to get the blueberry cupcake. Kuroko turned around to meet a young boy her age, with hair and eyes a shade of red she had never seen before. It was almost like the kind of red only someone with royal blood would have, the type of red that looked so mesmerising that one could only deduce that the hair colour was dyed to achieve a colour so unnaturally vibrant. His eyes was a shade of red so captivating that someone could stare at it for days, and not be bored of the ever-changing tones that were sometimes dark and sometimes light. However, his glance remained distant, his body emitting a superior aura that made young Kuroko second-guess his identity as some son of a rich person- could he be a prince? Out of all her buddies, she had never seen someone who looked so- conflicting and confused. Surely he was a child, just like her- then why did he look as if he expected her to bow down and treat him like he was above her?

The boy met her gaze, and the teal-haired girl felt shivers down her spine. His eyes were full of knowledge, and _power- _yet they seemed dull, despite the beautiful red colour that concealed a lurking emotion behind it. Her spine was tingled with an unknown sensation from looking in his eyes. Nothing was said for a minute, until young Kuroko's brain registered that this person in front of her was insulting her. The person that had said that her hands were dirty was also the same person that had given her a weird glance just seconds before. A boy that made Kuroko feel slightly uncomfortable under his gaze as if he was intruding private space- yet also sparked her curiosity and a thirst to know more about the red-head.

"My hands are not dirty!" She retorted, staring defiantly at him, shaking off all the positive thoughts she had about him earlier. There was nothing interesting about him anyways, he was like all the other boys, except more boring, less energetic, and definitely not at all considerate about other people's feelings.

The boy stood still, his eyes not betraying him of any emotion, seemingly either uninterested, or just obviously ignoring her and not even bothering to hide that fact.

_What a weird person.. _Kuroko thought, trying to pretend he didn't exist, as she carefully reached for a cupcake, aware of his gaze that was burning into her back. She took a small bite out of it, and instantly her taste buds squealed with delight at the blueberry sensation which temporarily took over her, as for a few seconds, Kuroko could swear she was in heaven. The sweet but not overpowering taste swept her off her feet, as it seemed as if the hall was quiet, it was only her enjoying this blueberry cupcake that she was going to have all to herself. The rich, creamy texture of the icing melted in her mouth as the three blueberries released their fruity juice, topping the whole taste and bring it up another level.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, the boy turned and walked away, and Kuroko felt as if she was in a conflict with herself. One part of her wanted to tell the boy to stay, the other part couldn't care less about a seemingly rude and cold person like him. Although a mental-war was raging on inside her head, the un-occupied part of her brain realised that the boy was wearing a white tuxedo that was probably custom made to fit his size, with his left hand in his pocket, walking away with perfect posture as if he had be taught like that to walk formally, back straight, head high, and all.

As she watched the boy disappear in the crowds, her limpid teal eyes reflected his regal figure disappearing into the crowd before someone had startled her by tapping her on the back.

A gasp escaped her, as Kuroko turned around to face an unfamiliar woman. She was fairly young, around her early-twenties, with auburn hair and big, brown eyes. However, she was probably the only person here who wasn't wearing a dress- she was wearing leather jeans and a black, shiny jacket, her hair messed up and going in wild directions.

"You're Kuroko Tetsune, right?" She asked cheerfully, waiting for a response.

"Y-Yes." The eleven year old replied, quite shocked of being approached by a stranger who acted as if they had known each other quite well. Her head was still full of thoughts from the boy that approached her earlier and criticized her.

"Great, come with me!" She invited, holding her hand out, then reached for Kuroko's arm when the younger girl did not do anything, looking like she was occupied with her thoughts. "Someone wants to meet you."

Kuroko was confused at the least, but hastily placed her blueberry muffin on the table, regretfully leaving the blissful cupcake after only taking one bite out of it, before getting dragged away by the woman.

* * *

"You do realise, that with the hotel coming close to being bankrupt, there is only one way left to restore order and help this dreaded situation?" A serious voice coming from a fifty-something year old man said quietly to his intended audience.

Kuroko Hiroshi's face darkened, a scowl taking over his features while he lit a cigar.

"Surely there's another way, other than this?" He said, almost desperately, while struggling to maintain his outer appearance of being calm.

"I will offer you help. My son, as I said, who is turning twenty-six this year, still does not have a wife. As you know, his- er, conditions, aren't that great, but if we can get this marriage to work, I assure you, the Takahama family will definitely fund your hotel enough to save your family from being cold and defenceless on the streets, while shouldering a massive debt."

Kuroko Hiroshi frowned. "M-My daughter?"

"Yes." The older business man replied. "That's all. A wife for my eldest son. She will be treated well, and in return, you will stay where you are now, the only way for your family to go is up, after all, when you receive my generous amount of financial support." He chuckled.

"I will consider this, however my daughter is only eleven years old, she is not ready for marriage yet." The blue-haired father defended firmly. His daughter- a bright girl that he was so proud of… No, he would not allow such a marriage to happen. She was too young, and what kind of a father would he be if he sacrificed his only daughter for money?

The older man smiled darkly, his smile twisted. "I'm afraid your business won't be able to wait much longer. I know you've already sold that private apartment of yours, and the well-known villa down at the Northern Beaches that you had inherited to keep your hotel running without your wife or daughter knowing, but how long can this act go on?"

Fists clenched by teal-haired father, he gritted his teeth, eyes looking at the floor.

"Agree to this marriage…" The older businessman soothed, a sly, manipulative gentleness in his voice. "And all your financial worries will be gone."

* * *

The mysterious woman tightened her grip on Kuroko's slender, pale wrist who had started suspecting something was up. She was still in the unbelievably enormous ballroom with its marble tiles and expensive paintings that decorated the walls, but they were walking up spiralling stairs that lead to an unknown second floor. Once they were hidden from the sight of the main guests, Kuroko felt that the whole atmosphere here seemed entirely different. It was quiet- too eerily quiet, compared to downstairs, where people seemed to be enjoying themselves. The stairs brought them at the middle of a long, hallway, with doors every ten metres or so. They turned left and walked downwards for what seemed like a long time, the soft grey carpet beneath them patterned with squares of different shades as the small lights above casted their shadows. Kuroko was finally bought in front a door that looked no different to all the other ones she had walked past, before she was violently pushed in and a click was heard behind her.

It took the smart child some time to realise a few things.

Firstly, she had just been brought by a friendly auntie, a friend of her mothers- at least that was what she had thought. At first downstairs she was making gentle conversation, and cracking jokes to make Kuroko laugh. Then, as soon as they were out of sight, the conversation stopped, their silence filling up the hallways. And how did she know in the first place this was her mothers friend? Come to think of it, what was her name again? Did the auburn-haired lady ever reveal anything about herself? It seemed all she did the whole way was ask about Kuroko. Was she a stranger, then?

Secondly, why was she here? After her mental discussion about the mysterious woman, who she now assumed was not a friendly auntie like she seemed to be, Kuroko realised that this was not her room. The carpet inside was grey as well, and as she reached for the doorknob like any other person would trying to get out of a strange, unknown room, she found it locked, and the touch of the cold metal sent shivers down her spine.

Was she just locked in? At a strange room which she had never been before?

She forced herself to push the panic down. She was eleven now, old enough to handle this herself without screaming like a child. What did her father teach her again? Never show anyone if you're afraid. Fear never helps.

After a few shaky and unsuccessful deep breaths, her heart was beating faster than ever.

_I want to get out. _Kuroko thought, facing the door and squatting down. _Where are my parents?_

A sudden sound in the back corner of the room startled her. She turned around, definitely spooked out because she thought that there was no-one else in this room but her. Was it ghosts, maybe?

It was the first time that she had actually observed the room. She was standing on a lower platform, and the upper, circular shaped level had a bed on it. To the left was a large kitchen, with all sorts of pots and pans- it looked like a chef's dream place to cook. To the right was a smaller room, from what she could see at this angle- probably the bathroom, a closet and table where there were toys placed on it.

Kuroko figured that time was going to pass anyways, so might as well play with the toys that were probably meant for her, since the lady had taken her here. She walked to the table, finding toy cars and trains on there. Many of them were broken, wheels falling off or snapped in a half. There was a _Thomas the tank engine _train whose face had been scribbled out by black markers. She took the only toy that was a train which seemed to be in an acceptable quality, and pushed it forward, its wheels creaking and sounding oddly loud in this silent room.

Another shuffle that did not come from where she was. Startled, Kuroko stood up from the chair she was sitting on, leaving the train where it was. Her bun was annoying her, because she wasn't used to it being up, and her neck was feeling oddly exposed and cold. The only thing that could be heard in this room wrapped in a deathly silence was the panicked beating of her heart, as her small hands gripped tightly onto the table.

From the back of the room, where there were cardboard boxes stashed messily, a figure slowly appeared.

"W-What?" Kuroko whispered, trembling slightly. Her small frame was now backed against the wall, terrified if some monster would appear out of there.

Fortunately for her, it was not some horrible monster that was going to devour her and rip her head off. Unfortunately for her, it was a man that looked like he was going to devour her and rip her head off.

The larger man stared at her, his intimidating aura paralysing the younger child. The man's face was nothing like she had seen before, his eyes were a dark brown, almost black, his pupils were dilated and his face was smudged with something brown- chocolate? His lips were big and wide, revealing what was left of his rotten, decaying teeth. The man was dressed in striped blue and white pyjamas that seemed too small for him, and his hair was smeared with something suspiciously like mud, or blood. He moved towards the girl, as she slowly edged towards the door, treating him like a stray dog, not making sudden movements in an attempt to escape.

In a flash, her fingers touched the doorknob, before quickly twisting it and prepared herself to run, away from this scary man, to her parents, and hopefully get a nice bubble bath while going back to finish her homework.

A pain shot up her wrist, as Kuroko remembered the door was locked, and was startled at how much force she had used to twist open a simple doorknob, which she thought, _wasn't _locked.

Surprised by her sudden gesture, the man quickly approached her, his already deformed face smiling like a mad man.

"I like blue. Pretty wife." He managed to grunt, before his dirtied fingers forcefully grasped her teal hair, staining it with chocolate, and shoved her on the gigantic bed that was neatly made.

In a second the defenceless girl had her back on the soft bed, with a stranger towering over her, his eyes reflecting an unknown emotion, features twisted into a scary, unnerving way. The stench from his breath was sickly sweet, and just looking at his teeth which still had remains of his lunch stuck there made her want to puke. She was definitely too close with this man, and the girl was scared out of her wits.

"S-Someone, help me!" She managed to choke out, as the man digged his fingernails into her collarbone, trying to take her dress off.

Her eyes widened, a fear like nothing she had ever experienced settled in her. Dread filled the girl up, like poison which seeped through her body. His touch repulsed her, every bit of her wanted to escape. But her body wouldn't listen to what her mind was saying. All she could do was stare at the man's horrid face, trembling. It was as if he had drained her energy to escape, she was dimly aware that the man was undressing her, unzipping the dress she wore as his maniacal laughter filled her ears.

"Me like pretty. Pretty wife." He chanted, a thin thread of saliva joining the remainders of his teeth as they parted to speak.

Kuroko's vision started rapidly fading, her senses numb, no longer providing the brain with information of the outside world, as she slipped into darkness.

When Kuroko opened her eyes again, a cold wind blew and it chilled her to the bones. Someone had put a white jacket over her that was only a little bit bigger than her body. She realised she was sitting down, and when she looked up, she could see the darkening sky which had finished its display of sunset. Tiny, bright objects started appearing, shining and twinkling.

She blinked, before she tore her gaze away from the sky and found someone sitting opposite her. An involuntary scream came out, before she realised that she had just shouted. A bubbling urge of fear took over again, as the little strength she vanished for she could no longer sit upright. She was falling, before a pair of arms caught her.

Another scream came out before Kuroko realised that it was hers yet again. This persons touch was cold, yet it felt gentle as if they posed no threat. Why did she scream? A hand slapped the supporting arms out of her way, before she registered it was her hand that had swung so the person would stop touching her. It felt as if something was missing within her.

_Why am I behaving this way? _Kuroko thought, before small drips of water fell on her torn dress.

_My dress is torn? Is it raining? _

A hand forced her head to look up, Kuroko's vision was blurry, and her face felt wet. Was it her tears that were falling? Why is she crying?

She faced the boy that she had met earlier. His darkening red eyes flashed anger for a few seconds, before returning to their normal, not-converying-any-expressions kind of look. His had a cut on his cheek, it was bleeding with a red more breathtaking than any other shade she had seen before. His neatly combed hair was completely messed up.

"Eat." He ordered in a monotone voice, handing her the blueberry cupcake that she had left on the table. "You can't expect someone else to finish something you had already taken a bite of, could you?" He said, voice flat.

Kuroko blinked again. Why was this boy here? Her head, and every bit of her body hurt so much.

The smell of the blueberry cupcake comforted her oddly as, fingers outstretched, she accepted the cupcake. It didn't escape her notice that the boy inched his fingers back when she took the cupcake, so there wouldn't be any contact. As she bit into the cupcake, a warm feeling blossomed inside her cold and stiff body as with the other hand she held on tighter to the white jacket that enveloped her small frame. She stared at him again, admiring his features, while eating the cupcake. There was a silence between the two children- however it was comfortable, as if both individuals respected and appreciated each other's existence at this moment. Bit by bit, the cupcake continued to seep warmth and strength into her body, until at last, when the whole thing was gone, Kuroko let out a small, gentle laugh. She couldn't remember what had happened after eating the cupcake at the ballroom, she didn't know why she felt terrified and alone, but this cupcake had given her strength, as she recalled the beautiful flavours that blueberries could offer. Yes, that's right. It tasted absolutely delicious. Blueberry was her favourite flavour.

Her joyous memories were interrupted by a strange, wet sensation on the corner of her lips. When she opened her eyes, she found the boy almost pressed up next to her, his tongue licking a bit where there was blueberry icing. His comforting smell overloaded her senses, as she froze while looking into the burning red of his eyes.

_Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump_

_What was this feeling? _

It was two seconds of contact, but it felt as if his touch had burnt her skin. Kuroko's eyes were wide, all the words she could say were stolen by the small action this boy had done.

_It had tasted better than the cupcake she had. _

He pulled away, eyes now completely blank of expression, just as the door to the rooftop opened, with two frantic teal-headed adults coming in.

"K-Kuroko Tetsune! We were looking for you everywhere!" Her mother said, with her father trailing behind, their faces full of worry.

"M-Mother and father.. I'm so sorry!" She stuttered, mentally swatting away the image of what happened a few seconds ago as she stood up, still weak, and when her mother pulled her into a hug, Kuroko flinched, stepping back hastily.

"L-Let's go. I'm cold, mum." She muttered, before telling herself to leave, and to not look back at that boy alone on the rooftop, to not stare into his enchanting yet dangerous red eyes again.

As soon as the door was shut, the boy licked his lower lip, his expression unreadable, yet his eyes conveyed confusion and something else.

"The blueberry didn't taste as good as she made it seem. It tasted plain." The red-haired child muttered to himself, voice coated with a sense of a disappointment.

Then something hit the back of his head as his small body landed on the floor with a dull thump.

After getting warm downstairs and being questioned about where she was and whose white jacket she was wearing, Kuroko was handed a cup of hot chocolate again after spilling the first cup when her father's hand touched hers.

"I-I'm sorry for the mess." Kuroko hurriedly apologised, her unravelled teal hair in front of her face as they were in a small, private room.

"It's alright, honey. You must be tired. Here, let's get you a change of clothes and your appearance fixed up." Her mother said soothingly, calling two young girls to help her dress and change.

Kuroko was lead into a fairly big cubicle where the two girls, obviously trained, obediently waited for her to undress.

Kuroko shivered, as she took the dress off and saw suspicious fingernail shaped cuts and bruises all over her body. There was a flash of a room, and something else, but it was gone again just as fast as it had come. She quickly took of her dress, and put on the new, different-styled creamy white dress without any help from the two girls relatively easily. However, when it came to her hairstyle, and the two girls needed to touch her, she immediately jumped out of the chair at the dressing table and, with a wild, terrified look in her eyes, told them to leave her alone.

It was strangely out of character for her to do this. _Where did the cheerful girl disappear to? Was she being possessed? What was the room about? What happened? _The child thought, feeling like she was a stranger to herself.

The two girls tried their best, eventually giving up and just wiping of the stains and leaving her hair down without doing any fancy hairstyles on Kuroko as she jumped away every time there was contact.

After ten minutes, they walked out of the cubicle, as Kuroko faced her mother who seemed to have been crying. Confused because she had never seen her mother cry like this before, she wanted to give her mother a hug, to give her support, however as her fingers reached out to embrace her mother into a hug, an alien emotion pulsed within her, and the teal-haired child found herself unable to close the small gap between them as her arm fell down beside her.

_What's going on? _

Someone had cleared their throat, and young Kuroko looked up, confused, lost, mad and angry at herself for not being able to support her mother, who had always been there for her. For rejecting everyone's help, for making a mess of everything.

She looked up, only to see her father, who did not meet her gaze.

"Tetsune.. please meet your husband.. Takahama Shunso." Her father choked out, shaking.

Kuroko turned her head, meeting the face of someone she felt she had met already. Dread filled her up again, terror paralysed her and she suddenly felt like she was suffocating.

The man in front of her, now with added bruises and cuts to his face that were disguised in a horrible attempt by makeup, smiled menacingly, and her blood ran cold.

"Pretty wife."

**A/N: Okaaay, I spent waay too much time editing and re-editing this chapter. Honestly, I had this written up two days after the previous chapter was up but I guess I always want to read my chapters again to make sure I haven't missed anything. However, if you see any errors, tell me and I'll correct it!**

**Important things to note: This chapter is when Kuroko and Akashi were both 11 and quite a lot happened. Yes, the red-haired boy is Akashi. No, they didn't kiss. However, what happened in this chapter will change the rest of their lives (and also their personalities) Okey-dokey. Next, the title of this fanfic will be changed, because it no longer fits the plotline. New title will be updated when I post Ch. 4 ^^**

**Okay, its time to ramp this fanfiction up a little! The main plotline starts next chapter! :D**

**Thanks for reading and everyone that reviewed!**

**Anniee-chan ^-^ **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I can't be bothered to write any more disclaimers, haha. But for the last time I don't own KnB.. keep that in mind, kay :L**

**-Blackmail-  
**_A Kuroko No Basket Fan fiction  
_Written by anniee-chan  
_  
An invisible red string connects those who are destined to meet,  
__regardless of time, place, or circumstance.  
__The string may stretch or tangle,  
__but it will never break_

**-Chapter Four-**

There was a thunderous cheer that erupted from the gym, but for two certain people, the outside world was silenced as something inside them started to shift, and slowly make itself noticed as a strange feeling near their hearts.

Piercing blue eyes had tried to mask the fear away, staring defiantly into the red, merciless ones. The teal haired girl found herself trapped, as the dominant other refused to move. The longer she stared in the red-heads ruby eyes, the more she could sense that dreaded feeling. Emotions that were buried in the deepest of her soul were starting to ignite, like the cold fire in his eyes. Something was happening, but to the bluenette, it had felt like everything wrong.

She tore away and broke the eye contact, staring at the floor, as the sounds of the cheers from the gym started pouring in the second her eyes left his. Why was he so close to her in the first place? How did she let him get this far?

"Get away from me." Kuroko whispered, mustering all the force into those words. She knew what had happened to herself, and the last thing she wanted was contact with strangers, with relatives, with anyone. Her one intention was to isolate herself with other people, having no contact meant nothing would happen. Nothing at all.

It didn't matter who she hurt in the process. It didn't matter whether the person had ill intentions talking to her, or they were genuinely concerned. She pushed them all away, without a second thought, without caring how they felt after she used whatever methods to get them to leave her alone- permanently.

She attempted to shove him, but a hand come out and tightly grasped her slim, pale wrist.

"No."

It was a one-syllable word, yet it was filled with so much power and authority, it made Kuroko flinch. Images filled her head, blanking out the male in front of her. Her waking up in a hospital, only to find out that her parents had gone on a supposed 'holiday' from the nurses. The throbbing pain in her body kept her from noticing the regretful expressions on the nurses faces. When Kuroko was discharged, she expected to be greeted home, meet her parents and shake off that nightmare she had. It would be alright, everything would be fine again when she embraced herself in the comfort of her parents.

But instead she found an empty shell that used to be called 'home.' All the lights in the mansion was closed, curtains drawn, large doors tightly locked. Her parents never returned, she had found out they had died- driving a car on their way to the hospital before getting involved in an accident. The thought that the nurses in the hospital had lied to her didn't even cross her mind. As soon as she was told the real news, it felt as if something had snapped within herself. They had died, and she had killed them. Kuroko's mother, the loving, gentle, ever-so-supportive figure that had promised to be always there for her. They had pinky promised when it was young Kuroko's seventh birthday, just them two lying on a field of green grass, with the blue sky and fluffy clouds overhead. Her mother had said she would be with her forever.

It was a lie.

She was gone. Kuroko tried to hold on to her warm smile, but it was disappearing from her memory, like wisps of fog evaporating, leaving only blankness behind. She had clutched her frantically beating heart, placing her hand over the left side of her chest as the last trace of warmth from her mother only left the child a bitter longingness.

Her father was the humorous and smart man that had taught Kuroko all the things she was supposed to do in life. He had given her challenges, like building a bridge out of two pieces of paper, or trying to drop a raw egg from a certain height without it cracking. There were lessons on school subjects, where he would answer all the questions she didn't understand. When Kuroko encountered problems with her friends, she would go to her father, who would carefully explain why her friends acted like that, and what faults she had. He had taught her gentleness, sympathy, understanding, forgiveness, the feelings of generosity and the meaning of sacrifice.

But he never taught her how she would cope once they both left her.

The emptiness in her heart filled her up again. It was ironic. Sometimes the only feeling she felt was a hollowness within herself. A small choke came out as she blinked away unneeded tears that slid down her alabaster cheeks and shattered on the ground.

A commanding voice had then broken her out of the chains that were holding her prisoner of her past memories.

"Follow me." He said, a rare gentleness displayed in his voice.

And like a lost sheep, Kuroko willingly tread behind his footsteps. She had no reason to trust him. She had no reason to trust anyone again. As the school grounds started to blur away and turn into unfamiliar ground, she couldn't help but think once again of taking her own life.

It had first been the unbearable pain in her heart, the dreaded feeling in her guts that had surrounded her. Everything had seemed to remind the bluenette of her parents, there was a trace of them everywhere. She was reminded of her parents In the small restaurant they always liked to dine in, in issues of her mothers favourite magazine, or a random stranger on the road that just happened to look like her father from behind- everywhere she looked, she was pained with the burden of the past. There was denial, too. Sometimes Kuroko would pretend that her parents were still there with her, she would imagine having dinner not by herself, facing into the darkness of her small apartment, but rather with her parents again, their laughter and joy echoing and providing comfort. The tears came rather easily when the tugging and dull pains in her body started again. She was not only bearing the mental burden of the loss, but her body was reacting physically as well. The longing emptiness, the frustration and regret, a pain that was like knives stabbing every part of her body when she wanted her parents with her so badly that she wished she could give up on everything.

Kuroko wanted to scream. How could memories of things from the past which had brought her so much happiness become something that caused her this agonizing pain? She was so alone, spiralling into a whirl of darkness that was hidden behind a mask of indifference. There was no one to help her because she let no one in, the despair and desperation slowly devouring her from the inside.

Kuroko had considered ending her life. It would be quick, it would be painless. It would free her from everything she had to endure. She didn't want to live a life without her parents in it, she didn't want a life where everything that she saw sparked overwhelming memories that sent her on the verge of tears because what she had before- she had no more. She didn't need to be reminded of that. When everything in one's life disappeared, did they have a reason to live anymore?

Yet, she could not take away her own life. Her parents were on their way to visit her in the hospital, when the accident happened. Her parents had wanted to make sure _she_ was alright.

How could she give up the last thing her parents were trying to protect?

How could she forfeit her life when it costed theirs?

Kuroko couldn't live with half her soul missing. But she couldn't bring herself to end it all.

She was torn. She faced two decisions, but she couldn't bring herself to do either.

For her, it was long since she had become an empty shell, opening her eyes only to endure the seconds that ticked away, repeating the same things she did every day.

But then he appeared. His intrusion into her life had started to shed light on the darkening world before her eyes. She didn't need to closely inspect the red-haired boy at all to know at once it was _him._

She knew. It took less than a glance for him to evoke the supressed emotions within her that had kept her qualified as a human.

Now she was walking behind him. She had to push him away before it was too late.

The figure in front of her stopped walking abruptly, and Kuroko looked up. It felt like she couldn't have been walking for more than five, maybe ten minutes. However, the loud, noises of civilisation- cars on the roads, pancakes sizzling and waiting to be flipped, people chatting, talking, laughing- it all suggested they had walked quite a while. They had stopped in front of a small restaurant that had a small glass door with a sign claiming the shop was in service. The red-head pushed the door open with this left hand, as the air-conditioning inside blasted full force at the bluenette.

"Welcome to Keiji's Noodle Shop!" A chirpy, young waitress greeted. She had auburn hair tied into pigtails, as she escorted the two to a table near the window. Her eyes had flashed curiosity for a second, no doubt wondering what two high schoolers were doing during school hours, but nonetheless bit her tongue and said nothing.

"A couple, yes?" She asked, as she clicked a black pen in her hands while holding out a notepad expectantly. After receiving no response from either of the two, the waitress quickly scribbled down something that she deemed suitable.

"I'll get you the newest dish in the couple's food section. Our chef only made it up this morning, so you'll be the very first couple to try it!" The waitress announced, her voice boasting the new dish, as she excitedly went to the kitchen at the back of the restaurant and handed a chef the order.

As soon as the waitress had left, Kuroko shuffled uncomfortably in her chair. They were seated at a small, square table and Akashi was sitting directly opposite her. It was such a strange feeling, having someone to actually sit within such close proximity, sharing your presence and acknowledging it.

A small, excited emotion caused an erratic pulse in her heart at this new experience, but it was quickly forced away and ignored. Her expectations were starting to get too wild if she was starting to enjoy this.

_I want nothing to do with other people. _The bluenette thought inside, trying to convince herself. She had no problem doing this before, so why was she struggling when it came to him?

* * *

Akashi remained calm, yet his eyes were observing every action of this girl. She had intrigued him. He knew that everyone had problems in their life, but this girl seemed desperate- broken, far beyond what she should be experiencing at her age. The girls at their school were always talking and giggling about boys, smiling, laughing.

She was the complete opposite.

And that was what kept his interest in her. Her teal eyes would convey such a mixture of emotions whenever sparkling tears were threatening to pour downwards, it produced something within him. He would have to figure out what the sick feeling in his lower abdomen is, as it only happened when he was with her. This girl- Kuroko Tetsune, would be a useful something to pass the time. His priorities were straight, the basketball winter cup would further prove himself and his abilities. Then he would be taking over _Akashi Corporation _as heir, slowly devouring other, weaker companies later in the future. This girl would be something he kept around, until he figured out what made her tick, then he would discard her away, when she no longer interested him anymore and would only prove to be a hindrance to his future plans.

But, although he was unwilling to admit, there was also something else, a nagging feeling that he just couldn't let go. A sense that he had met this girl from somewhere, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't quite pin it down from where he had seen her.

For the record, that was extremely odd. Once Akashi saw a persons face once, he would be able to recall it. But there was nothing. Not even a trace of a flashback that would've proved their meeting in the past. His phenomenal memory was something that everyone knew. His father had discovered his son's extraordinary quality as he excelled at memorising and analysing things at a young age. Once he was taken to specialists, all they did was watch in amazement as the future heir of Akashi Corporation exceeded their expectations in strategic plans and his memory had never failed him in any sort of tests he was given.

"Here you go." The waitress said, appearing at the table and putting down a golden platter with red noodles. "The chef named this dish _The Red string of Fate_. It's a couple dish because it's one long, red noodle, so in the end, after starting at the ends, the couple would kiss."

The bluenette stayed still, her blue eyes reflecting the red colour from the noodles. She had requested chopsticks instead of a fork, and so the waitress had placed it in front of her.

_Red seems to compliment the colour of her eyes. _Akashi commented internally, before he dismissed that irrelevant thought from his mind.

He glanced up, finding the waitress looking at him, before she frantically tried to pretend she was interested at the blank wall behind him and an obvious blush decorated her face.

"I'll leave you two to it, then." The waitress giggled awkwardly, before walking away hurriedly towards the counter.

When they were left to each other's company again, a tense silence had settled. Kuroko was dimly aware that they had skipped school, but her mind was more focused on thinking of ways so that she could prevent meetings with him in the future.

"Well? Aren't you going to eat?" The masculine voice proposed, sending visible shivers down her body. The voice had definitely changed now. But it was only the pitch. The feeling of authority had not lessened a bit, instead it managed to do be even more demanding than before.

Kuroko used the chopsticks and attempted to bend the noodle and shorten it.

"Didn't you hear the waitress? It's one noodle. I forbid you to break it."

Her eyes shot up, surprised and wary, only to meet a face completely devoid of emotion as always, although his heterochromatic eyes were burning with something she realised as curiosity.

He stabbed one end of the noodle, and started eating it from his side while keeping up his table etiquette, his back straight and fork neatly beside the napkin where it had belonged.

Kuroko used the black chopsticks, her fingers quick and placing her side of the noodle into her mouth, politely eating it.

It was a few minutes later, when the bluenette realised she had to lean forward in order to continue her consummation of the rather delicious noodle. Her eyes followed the thread of the red rope, which was now a straight line, to another pair of lips.

She looked up, slowly continuing to eat the noodle while staring into the red and orange eyes of the male. He was inching closer, and Kuroko could now closely stare at his regal features. She remembered meeting him when they were both significantly younger and never forgetting what he looked like afterwards when he walked away. He was the first one to come to her after she had been violated, he had been supporting her, but she would push him away. It was almost certain he couldn't remember what had happened, he showed no obvious recognition when he first met her.

Several instances Kuroko had wondered what would happen if she had told him to not go, to stay with her the first time. Then she wouldn't have been dragged away by the woman and led to something that would alter her entire world forever.

If she had stayed with him, refused to go with her parents downstairs the second time she had met him, she wouldn't have been sent to the hospital. Her parents wouldn't have died.

Why was it that every time when something was going to destroy her, this boy was always there?

The obvious strain from the noodle made her shift her attention away from thoughts in her head. As the two both ate their noodle, they were inevitably drawn closer.

Their breaths mingled, and both sides shivered from the close proximity of each other, never experiencing anything quite like this before. Hetero eyes stared into the blue ones, daring her to stop eating, knowing full well what had happened to her before, knowing that she would eventually bite her noodle to stop what would surely happen if she didn't.

But to both of their surprise, the bluenette kept eating. She had accepted the silent challenge issued between them.

They were both close to each other, and in this moment, nothing could be heard anymore, except for two hearts that were beating frantically, yearning for something, yet afraid at the same time. A few more bites.. and surely that something was going to happen. They both knew it, but neither of them stopped, both were completely trapped in a new, wild sensation that made their whole body tingle with nerves.

_Snip._

The red noodle between their mouths was cut in one fluid movement. But it wasn't just the noodle, both sides had felt something internally within them had snapped as well. The bluenette and the red-head turned simultaneously, their eyes filled an impossible mix of emotions swirling in them, only to find a girl with golden hair and a triumphant look on her face, as she twirled Akashi's red scissors in her hands, before slamming it on the table, darkening yellow eyes thick with rage.

* * *

**A/N: ARGHHH… okay firstly sorry for slow updates XD recently theres something stressful going on in my life I'm going in a test/audition kind of thing and the chances of me making it to the finals is decent, but im only stressed because I really, REALLY want to win. It's kinda my last chance to enter this comp and it will change my life completely if I do.. results come out next month so if I do make it in I'll be sooo happy and ill probably do an extra-long chapter but if I don't make it in ill probably be like, super, super depressed for a while :( just a warning..**

**I know I said the main plot would begin this chapter, but I kind of pushed that back a little because this scene took unexpectedly long, lol. Anyways, thanks for having so much patience, and this chapter is dedicated to everyone that favorited/followed/reviewed. :)**

**Let me know if I made any typos, I know how frustrating it is when that happens, and trust me, I hate it too, but sometimes my eyes just die on me and I read the mistakes but somehow the lazy brain I have doesn't want to command my hands to change it. I hope you guys got to understand Kuroko's character more in this chapter ^^ And also sorry for having such long authors notes.. im sure you'd all prefer if I used this time on writing up the next chapter, bwahaha. Btw, do you guys like the new title? :D**

**As always, thanks for reading!  
Anniee-chan ^-^ **


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